Vannevar Bush voiced the idea that the human mind "operates by association"
and ran with it to explain the Memex:

"With one item in its grasp, [the mind] snaps instantly to the next that is
suggested by the association of thoughts, in accordance with some intricate
web of trails carried by the cells of the brain. It has other
characteristics, of course; trails that are not frequently followed are
prone to fade, items are not fully permanent, memory is transitory. Yet the
speed of action, the intricacy of trails, the detail of mental pictures, is
awe-inspiring beyond all else in nature." (As We May Think)

He never did follow up to that with references, though, and I wonder if
some of you might be able to point me to relevant literature on the subject
of -- not associative memory, but associative thinking, the stream of
consciousness taken out of the context of creative writing. I've already
been directed toward Henri Bergson's Matter and Memory, which is
interesting, though not directly relevant.

We will be hearing more from many other sources, but here is the first
notice of the second triennial rulemaking proceeding undertaken by the
Copyright Office and mandated by the DMCA to examine whether any particular
"classes of work" need to be exempt from the controversial
"anti-circumvention" section (1201) of the DMCA. Are there particular
classes of works, whose users "are, or are likely to be, adversely affected
in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on
circumvention" of protection measures?

This then is a call for examples particularly of "fair use" or any other
legitimate use of digital materials that are protected by technological
locks which is being prohibited by this legislation. What legal use of
protected material is being prevented by this section of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act?

> >From US Copyright Office, NewsNet, October 30, 2002
>Issue 174:
>
>"Beginning November 18, the initial round of comments in the Copyright
>Office triennial rulemaking proceeding on exemptions from the
>prohibition on circumvention of technological measures that control
>access to copyrighted works may be filed electronically through the
>Copyright Office website. Comments will be limited to those proposing
>specific classes of works to be exempted. "
>(67 FR 63578)

> From the Web site:
>
>The Copyright Office is preparing to conduct proceedings mandated by the
>Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which provides that the Librarian of
>Congress may exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against
>circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted
>works. The purpose of this rulemaking proceeding is to determine whether
>there are particular classes of works as to which users are, or are likely
>to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due
>to the prohibition on circumvention.
>
>This notice requests written comments from all interested parties,
>including representatives of copyright owners, educational institutions,
>libraries and archives, scholars, researchers and members of the public,
>in order to elicit evidence on whether noninfringing uses of certain
>classes of works are, or are likely to be, adversely affected by this
>prohibition on the circumvention of measures that control access to
>copyrighted works.

--

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